Receive Financial Incentives & Enhance Efficiency in your Data Center
Earn rebates up to 75% of the cost of a 42U Assessment, not to exceed $25,000. Earn $400 for each kilowatt saved on any preapproved energy-efficiency technology implementation.
42U is an Xcel Energy approved study provider. We will conduct the efficiency study, prepare all necessary documentation, and coordinate all study logistics including project management and support.
Whether you are building a new data center or looking to make energy efficiency improvements to an existing data center, 42U can help. Contact your 42U Solutions Consultant now to find available energy rebates.
These days, data center projects do not happen without the appearance of three letters-ROI (return on investment). In the context of data center energy efficiency, ROI usually has a tie to cost savings, both CapEX and OpEX. A next-generation enterprise data center, for instance, may require a smaller building (CapEX) and require less energy to run (OpEX) than a legacy facility.
A cogent ROI figure can mobilize the masses and get projects approved. In some geographies, there may be a supplemental source of capital to accelerate the return on data center projects: utility rebates.
Reasons for Rebates Data centers require up to "40 to 50 times more power than comparably sized office space" (Scofield & Weaver, 2008). And demand has risen steadily over the last five years, as we move further into the on-demand age. In Northern California alone, data centers consume between 400 to 500 megawatts of power. There have been notable cases where urban enterprise data centers have exhausted their utility power with no recourse to get more. This extreme consumption stresses an already aging, volatile power grid.
Furthermore, the global consciousness regarding energy, consumption, and climate change has grown. Data center power consumption, if left unchecked, is projected to surpass the airline industry as the world's largest contributor to CO2 emissions. The industry recognizes that things can and must change.
These are all compelling reasons for utilities to encourage conservation. And they've found that money talks.
Rebate Details Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), the electric utility serving Silicon Valley, is perhaps the most prominent company in this area, due to the enormous concentration of data centers in its service area. PG&E has researched and written extensively on data center energy efficiency, and they've been generous to those companies who demonstrate energy savings.
Hewlett Packard built an economizer into a new California data center. PG&E rewarded their efforts with a $400,000 check (Mitchell, 2007)
Network Appliance's new Sunnyvale data center, designed to operate at a PUE of 1.3, received a $1.4 million energy rebate from PG&E.
PG&E rewards energy efficient improvements to both facilities (cooling, power distribution) and IT (server virtualization and consolidation) systems. For the latter, PG&E estimates the incentive at $150-$300 per server removed.
The incentives are not exclusive to Northern California. A number of regional utilities have data center energy efficiency programs. Xcel Energy, with a service area that spans eight (8) states, offers rebates for both energy efficiency studies and implementations in Minnesota and Colorado. The study audits the data center and recommends technologies and approaches to improve efficiency. If customers adopt the recommendations, Xcel will offer a rebate for each kilowatt saved through the implementation.
The first step in most rebate programs is engaging your local utility, or someone who understands the rebate process. Both PG&E and Xcel, for example, require that customers submit applications and go through their process in order to receive approval and funding prior to purchasing a study or implementing an efficiency improvement. This is typical because the utilities want to document the savings to ensure that their clients realize actual improvements.
The Time is Now Regulation, in some industries, is a dirty word. Yet most data center authorities agree that we're headed in that direction. The oft-cited EPA report to Congress in 2007 proved that the federal government is interested in curbing data center power consumption; the new administration appears to be increasing the momentum. Federal legislation could possibly follow the progressive State legislation enacted in California and other states.
When mandates are legislated, energy conservation rebates will likely vanish. The onus falls on data center operators to get ahead of the curve and implement efficiency measures now, while this financial resource is available. This capital, coupled with reduced utility bills, provides a compelling financial return on the initial efficiency investment as well as a positive message of proactive corporate responsibility.
As much as 50% of a data center's energy bill is from infrastructure (power & cooling equipment). Try our Interactive data center efficiency calculator and find out how reducing PUE will result in significant energy and cost savings!
How much can your organization save by having a more energy efficient Data Center?
Bibliography Mitchell, R. L. (2007, November 5). Case Study: Wells Fargo's Free Data Center Cooling System. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from Computerworld
Scofield, C. M., & Weaver, T. S. (2008). Using Wet Bulb Economizers: Data Center Cooling. ASHRAE Journal , 52-58.
About 42U Since 1995, 42U has been a leader in providing data center efficiency solutions for data center and facilities managers. Our vendor and technology agnostic approach leverages our best-practice expertise in monitoring, airflow analysis, power, measurement, cooling, and best-of-breed efficiency technologies to help data center managers improve energy efficiency, reducing power consumption and subsequently lowering energy costs.
